The Xperia family of smartphones from Sony Ericsson are scheduled to start receiving the long-awaited Android 2.1 (Eclair) updates this weekend, precisely from Sunday evening.

The updates will be rolled out on a regional basis for the X10, X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro. All these phones were initially shipped with Android 1.6 (Cupcake) from the factory.

The key changes for the different products are the following:

Xperia X10:

• HD video recording with continuous auto-focus for high quality videos
• Upgrade of the Android platform to Android 2.1
• New back up and restore application, with extended content back up
• 5 homescreens for apps, widgets, shortcuts and folders
• Social phonebook which automatically syncs contact pictures from Facebook and shows when your friends are online

Xperia X10 mini and X10 mini pro:

• Improved Bluetooth functionality with support for sending and receiving pictures, contacts and more
• New backup and restore application with extended content back up
• Automatic synchronization of your contact pictures between Facebook and your phone book
• Improved ways of handling pictures, audio, text and numbers in your messages
• Upgrade of the Android platform to Android platform 2.1

Your phone will automatically let you know with a notification when the update is ready for your specific software version and then you will be guided to how to perform the update using the PC Companion software.

Sony Ericsson recommends that you backup your personal data before carrying out this update.

Source: Sony Ericsson Product Blog

I have been musing at developments in the mobile space for a while. Before now, we had phones, then smartphones. Now, we also have tablet devices (with network connectivity built in).

I have spent a number of minutes comparing the features of the Samsung Galaxy Tab and the Apple iPad, for example (there’s also RIM’s PlayBook among others) – and the question that I come off with is: If I own a tablet like the Tab, what would I need a smartphone for?

For me, it would make sense to get a more basic device dedicated to voice and SMS, and then use the tablet for my mobile computing needs. That would also wipe out the issue of short battery life for my mobile phone.

I am not sure that I could use a tablet as a phone. Just imagine putting something of that size to your head. Hello? Hello? Nah. The Nokia 9500 would look elegant compared to these guys!

Oh, but there’s bluetooth headsets (and there goes more power). Or plug-in headsets. Perhaps. Or over time, some new technology that lets us receive calls in our heads. Who knows?

Are we heading back to where we started off years ago – the era of carrying two devices, a phone and a PDA? Or will we take convergence to the next level and simply get used to carrying tablets around as phones?

No; don’t look at me like that; I don’t know. Just thinking out loud. Can’t blame a guy.

If you are into games on your mobile, here’s a free limited-time offer: the full version of Call of Duty for Mobile is available for today only. Call of Duty is an action/shooter type game, so it is for those who don’t mind carrying and using a gun (at least in the virtual world on their mobile). No; this is not a limited trial version, but the full game.

The free offer is available only from GetJar, so hop over there now to seew if this game is available for your phone.

I successfully downloaded and installed it on the X10 Mini Pro. It works without sound, but whenever I activate sound it force closes. I haven’t had the time to play the game yet though.

But do hurry if you want it: Download Call of Duty.

Regulars here on Mobility Nigeria know that I am often a lone voice of reason in the mad smartphone market. Very often, you see an individual who has certain preferences and does not seem to be able to understand why his preferences are not the whole world’s.

Recently, I started a “Greener pasture” series to demonstrate how the grass is not necesarilly greener across the fence and to encourage people to take a critical look at their needs in making smartphone purchases.

By way of example, the iPhone4 is a great device. I doubt that there are any arguments about that. But as great as it is, it does not and cannot meet my needs. I would get frustrated using it.

Same goes for the average Blackberry device. They are excellent at what they do, but they would just cramp my style.

Does that make iPhones and Blackberry devices terrible? Nope; not in my opinion, at least. We can severally keep wishing that Apple would implement this and RIM implement that, Android implement those, and Symbian implement this for all eternity. At the end of the day, what you want to do is look for that device that best meets your need and spend your money on that one.

Below are excerpts from an excellent article that nails my thoughts on the head. Believe me, but the article is titled, The Nokia N8 Is Perfect, There, I Said It.

If you’re a BMW car fan and you go ahead and buy a Mercedes Benz car because of one cool feature, then expect it to act like a BMW and get mad because it doesn’t, you’re an idiot. Stick to BMW, or accept the different approach. The same can be said about phones. You don’t buy a Blackberry and expect it to be 100% like an E71, you don’t get a Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and blame it for not having the iPhone’s multitouch. Every brand has their strengths, their weaknesses, their approaches, their concepts, their target audience.

That’s why, my friends, the Nokia N8 is perfect. I know well enough to accept that it’s not perfect for me because I like physical keyboards and I want medical applications. It’s not perfect for the iPhone/iOS hundreds of thousands of apps afficionados. It’s not perfect for many. But that doesn’t mean “it’s not perfect period”. It is. For its target audience, for those who adhere to the Nokia approach, to the touchscreen-only build form factor, to the slowly growing Ovi Store, those who need top-notch multimedia playback and recording features, those who take a picture of everything and anything in their life. The N8 IS perfect.

…..

Overall, the same feeling kept coming back: Nokia still has the lead in multimedia, especially in imaging. Every other smartphone manufacturer is months if not a year or more away from offering anything similar. And still when they do, it won’t be packed in one single device like on the N8. So if that’s what you’re looking for, then don’t look at anything other than the N8. And I agree.

If you’re considering buying the N8 but hate the non-removable battery or the lack of a QWERTY; if you’re considering the N8 but want the bling effect of HTC Sense or Android OS; if you’re considering the N8 but are too stuck in the Apple iOS way, with minimal UI and tons of apps; if you’re considering the N8 but would also love top notch encryption and security for your mail and communications like on a Blackberry; if you’re considering the N8 but wondering what Meego or the N9 will offer … PLEASE do yourself and everyone else a favor and don’t get an N8.

Read Rita’s full take: The Nokia N8 Is Perfect, There, I Said It

Perhaps the N8 is not the perfect phone for you? Or perhaps the iPhone4 is not? Or the Blackberry Torch? The X10 Mini Pro that I have been using for a few months does a good job for me, but it is not quite there. The N900 was closer to my ideal phone but was let down by battery life.

One thing is certain, regardless of how much we dismiss this phone or that because it doesn’t meet our needs, there will always be several others who are just fine with it simply because it meets their needs. Crazy world, yes, but deal with it we must.

The idea is that you pick a phone that handles well the things that you need the most and sort of live with the rest while hoping that you find favour with the manufacturer and they grant the rest of the items on your wishlist. Whatever you do, do use your head in making a choice.

I am looking forward to reviewing the Nokia N8 soon. As usual, I will be objective as I have been known to be, telling you its strengths and weaknesses, and then you – only you – can decide whether it is the phone for you or not.

Some months ago, we did an article asking you what phones you wanted if cost was not an issue. Your responses showed us that there is indeed a market opportunity that we could fill. And that is exactly what we are doing now.

Mobility Nigeria has stepped up to the plate to make it easy for you to get the phones of your dreams via our new product called The Phone Club. While we have offered instalment payments on a small scale in the last two years – and so have been able to iron out the wrinkles in the system – we are now throwing it open to the public.

How It Works
Basically, you join our Club (there is a registration/processing fee). Once we are done processing your application (7 days), you are ready to start purchasing your phone on an instalment basis.

Half the cost of the target phone is required as deposit, and the balance can be spread across a maximum of six (6) months. We would love to give you a longer re-payment period, but we think its best to keep things this way for now. Over time, we will extend the re-payment plan for members who prove themselves credit-worthy.

The good news is that whether its the iPhone4, the Desire, the Galaxy S, Blackberry Torch, or the N8, your dream phone is no longer outside your reach.

Of course, terms and conditions apply, but those terms are not hidden. Head over to the official Phone Club page for complete details.

Opera Mini is now available as a native Symbian application. Opera Mini is that popular mobile browser that helps users save time and cost through its proxy-based service. Traditionally, it has been java-based.

Some of the advantages of now having it as a native Symbian app include:

• Huge start up time improvements
• Lightning fast page load times
• Improved scrolling performance
• Integration with your device’s native text input (by default, the Opera virtual keyboard is used for entering URLs, but you can switch this to always use native T9 or QWERTY – depending on your device)
• Option to choose default access point – no more annoying connection dialogs

The even nicer part of this release is that it is backwards compatible with much older Symbian smartphones from Series 60 v2.0 handsets, as well as with the latest Symbion devices, e.g. the N8. Remember though that it is a beta release and will not necesarilly be trouble-free.

You can download Opera Mini 5.1 Beta by going to http://m.opera.com/ on your Symbian phone, or to the Opera Mini Website on your PC.

Source: ZOMGitsCj.com

There’s a new movie in town – The Commuter, and it was shot in HD/720p entirely on the Nokia N8. The movie is a fast-paced action comedy that demonstrates the awesome movie-recording capabilities of the N8.

The Commuter stars Dev Patel, Charles Dance, Ed Westwick and Pamela Anderson.

I watched the movie yesterday, and if I had not been told, I might not have guessed that it was shot on a mobile phone. Recording quality is better than that of several Nollywood productions that I know. Perhaps it is time for some Nollywood producers to give the N8 a try?

Here’s what Slumdog Millionaire star Dev Patel, who is lead actor in the film, has to say:

I wanted to encourage the next generation of filmmakers by showing that you don’t need expensive equipment and big budgets to make your own movies. The quality of a camera phone like the Nokia N8 allows filmmakers to produce amazing HD movies and I hope ‘The Commuter’ shows aspirational filmmakers that you can create a great movie even using a mobile phone.

Mobile film-making has been going on for a while. The Venture Show, a video podcast that I produced for a season, was shot on the Nokia E90 with good results. Steve Litchfield’s The Phones Show has been shot on a mobile for ages. Phones used in the past included the Nokias N93 and N86. He now uses the Samsung i8910 HD and Nokia N8.

Now, Nokia has got me wanting an N8. Finally. Just thinking of the things that I could do with this baby is leaving me lusting. In the meantime, I have the movie downloaded to my PC and smartphone, so I can watch it again and again.

And here it is for your viewing pleasure (note that you’ll need to go to the YouTube page to see The Commuter in its full 720p glory):

Source: Nokia Conversations

Today’s edition of The Guardian newspaper carries a news item announcing that the Glo 1 submarine fibre optic cable is now commercially active.

According to the news item, Glo 1 was unveiled in Lagos at the weekend. Glo promises that broadband access and other services will now be affordable.

Hopefully, Glomobile will soon announce the long-anticipated new mobile internet tariffs. MTN has long since rolled out more affordable mobile internet tariffs and more robust plans. MTN is connected to the rival Main One cable.

In this “greener pastures” article, I take a look at one of the old guard mobile Operating Systems, Blackberry. There is a current Blackberry craze around here, but many users, predictably, are not thinking through their needs before getting one.

Note that I have already detailed the strengths of Blackberry OS in my earlier article, What is so special about Blackberry, so if you want info on that, you know where to look.

But a Blackberry device may not be what you need, if only you take time to look at your needs. I will narrate one particular scenario that illustrates when not to buy a Blackberry.

A family friend of ours was given a BlackBerry Bold as a gift recently. Of course, we are all excited about gifts! The catch was, she is self-employed had a maximum monthly budget of N5,000 for internet access – both on-phone and for tethering.

Having a Blackberry meant that she cannot keep to that budget. A monthly Blackberry subscription costs her N4,700, and BB subscriptions on networks here do not cover tethering to a PC. Users are billed outside of their subscriptions. And usually, that billing is based on data usage i.e. per Kb.

In the first week alone, she had spent over N3,000 on extra airtime for tethering. Your guess is a s good as mine how high her monthly internet spending would end up. I can imagine how much she would need to load to download a 44MB or 200Mb file.

Point:
A Blackberry device and subscription is good for you already have separate internet subscriptions at home and/or at the office. If you are on a budget, using a Blackberry device should not be in your radar.

Again, does this make the Blackberry OS or a Blackberry device useless? No. Just don’t ignore facts when spending your hard-earned money. Running costs are usually more significant than acquisition costs, and if cash flow is an issue to you, some objectivity will help you in making a decision about what smartphone to get.

The grass is not necesarilly greener on the other side.

The amazing Maemo-powered Nokia N900 has a new update available. From Nokia Conversations:

The update adds Ovi Suite support to your N900 and makes it even easier to access and sync files and messages between your device and your desktop. In addition, we’ve added hundreds of tweaks and fixes that will make your N900 run faster and smoother than ever. You’ll know that the software update is ready to install when you see a white exclamation mark in a yellow box appear on your device’s screen. Just touch on that icon and follow the instructions.

If you own an N900 (and I know that there’s a small community of N900 users who regularly read this site), this is for you. Enjoy!

Source: Nokia Conversations

In Nigeria, words are indeed cheap (and getting cheaper by the day). However, data is anything but cheap.

One of the prime reasons why there is an explosion in the mobile browsing revolution is partly because the volume of data used in browsing websites on your mobile device is nowhere near the one used on your conventional desktop.You save tonnes of money browsing on your phone, rather than on your laptop.

Despite the increasingly big screens as well as very capable input methods offered by the mobile device manufactureres, browsing on a phone is generally not as convenient as doing so on your full-screened laptop.

Apart from reasons of true portability and power (a big headache in Nigeria), it is doubtful if anybody would prefer a full-fledged mobile phone over a PC/Laptop/Netbook for their browsing needs.

On practically evey available mobile OS platform, a server-assisted Java application like Opera Mini ensures that, with as little as 100/150 MB, you can have access to the internet round-the-clock for a whole month. The next logical quest would be – how can I enjoy the convenience and comfort of my full-sized desktop PC/LapTop, while at the same time, taking advantage of the data-compression abilities of an application like Opera Mini?

In other words, can I run Opera Mini on my Laptop? Yes; you can. The advantages are obvious and many. The disadvantages are there, but they are outnumbered by the advantages.

The point of this post is to highlight a method of enjoying the best of both worlds. By using a data-efficient mobile browser on a full-screened/keyboarded computing platform.

You can run any midlet (like the Opera Mini Browser) in a java-emulated environment on your PC/Laptop.

I imagine that many people will appreciate the speedy webpage loads and ultra-high compression data rates offered by the ability to run midlet applications like Opera Mini, UC Browser, Snaptu, Bolt, and so on. So, let’s see how you can go about it in a few steps:

1. All you need do this is ensure you have an internet connection (either through tethering [BlueTooth/Cable]) or via your USB Modem.
2. Make sure your PC has Java Runtime Environment Installed. (Google
   “Java RunTime Environment”).
3. Install The Java MicroEmulator. There is also a Portable Version of this.
4. Have your Java Jad applications handy (e.g Opera Mini)

For specific instructions, (and in order not to needlessly reinvent extant wheels), visit the following link: How to use Opera Mini on Your PC

You can also ‘google’ or ‘bing’ for “run Opera Mini on PC”

The results should be enough to get you running your Opera Mini (and other Java Applets) on your laptop in all its panoramic glory, saving you bandwidth (also known as MONEY).

The grass always looks green on the other side – until you cross to the other side, that is.

I have treated myself to experience devices on a number of mobile platforms, including Symbian, Windows Mobile, Palm, Maemo and Android. My background from the word go was Symbian.

All over the world, there is a huge crowd crying out for the newer, shinier mobile operating systems, iOS and Android being the most demanded. However, before you make that switch, here is more food for thought. I am one to always recommend that you think of your unique needs and situations before investing your hard-earned money in anything. It just makes sense.

I have been using the Android-powered Sony Ericsson X10 Mini Pro for a few months now, and while I love the device and the OS, there are some issues that just keep grating my nerves. This does not make the Mini pro a bad device or Android a useless OS. No; this is just so you know.

The following are weaknesses of Android-powered devices in general that I have faced the more I use the Mini Pro:

1. Not-so-good to poor battery life, depending on the device
2. Heavy data consumption
3. Poor non-Gmail email experience

Note that before arriving at the above conclusions, I had also scoured the internet to see if these were common issues with Android. Generally speaking, I have found them so.

Not-so-good to poor battery life, depending on the device
This is so well documented that I do not need to say much about it here, so I’ll just skip.

Heavy data consumption
Android OS seems to have been designed to connect to the internet for everything. Setting up any Android device requires an internet connection and a Gmail account. Thereafter, it doesn’t get better. Unless you do not need PUSH email and so turn off auto-sync, your droid stays continually connected to your Google mail, contacts and calendars – and guzzles your data while at it.

Not only that, automatic app updates require that connection as well. Unless you are willing to turn background data off and lose auto mail/contacts/calendars sync and access to the Market, you are going to be burning lots of data.

I used to get by with a 100Mb data plan on my smartphones. There were many months in which I did not exhaust my data allocation. My troubles started with the Maemo-powered N900 and now Android-powered X10 Mini Pro.

With the Mini Pro, for example, I had subscribed to a 150Mb plan from Glo on the 20th of September. By the 5th of october, it was all gone! I re-subscribed on the 6th. Ten days later, it was gone. Then I re-subscribed on the 16th. Today, the 25th, I have been told that I have 29Mb left, along with a renewal/cancellation notice.

That’s N3,000 (450Mb) for on-phone data in about the space of a month! This is not happening, I have been thinking to myself.

Note that I have PC internet both at home and at work, and I am not tethering with my device. This is on-phone usage.

Poor non-Gmail email experience
This may sound unbelievable to those who had thought that email was a strength of android, but I am having email problems that have remained unsolved. Gmail works fine. You see, Gmail, not email in general, is a strength of Android.

I have tried setting up other non-Gmail accounts e.g. my business mail, and failed every single time. I keep getting a server settings error, though all settings I enter are correct. This same email account that won’t work on my Mini Pro works on other platforms and other mail clients.

The internet is littered with people who have all kinds of email issues with Android. Even on v2.1, email is described as buggy in a number of places.

Till this minute, all that I have on my X10 Mini Pro is my Google-based email.

If I may mention, the only mobile OSes on which I have had no issues with email are Windows Mobile and Palm. Apart from BlackBerry which I never got to use for long enough to be able to tell, the others that I have used have been found wanting in one way or the other with regards email.

Well, there you are. If battery life and email are really important to you, and you are looking to keep your monthly mobile internet bills as low as can be, perhaps you need to re-think getting on the Android groove. Just saying.

Just don’t forget – very often, the grass looks green on the other side. Till you get there.